page_title: Baul
section_title: Influence on Rabindranath Tagore
hierarchical_section_title: Baul / Influence on Rabindranath Tagore
caption_attribution_description: English: A group of Baul singers in performance in Santiniketan, India.
context_page_description: The Baul or Bauls are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism and Vaishnavism from Bengal region, comprising Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Barak Valley. Bauls constitute both a syncretic religious sect and a musical tradition. Bauls are a very heterogeneous group, with many sects, but their membership mainly consists of Vaishnava Hindus and Sufi Muslims. They can often be identified by their distinctive clothes and musical instruments. Lalon Shah is regarded as the most celebrated Baul saint in history.
  Although Bauls comprise only a small fraction of the Bengali population, their influence on the culture of Bengal is considerable. In 2005, the Baul tradition of Bangladesh was included in the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
context_section_description: The songs of the Bauls and their lifestyle influenced a large swath of Bengali culture, but nowhere did it leave its imprint more powerfully than on the work of Rabindranath Tagore, who talked of Bauls in a number of speeches in Europe in the 1930s. An essay based on these was compiled into his English book The Religion of Man:
  The Bauls are an ancient group of wandering minstrels from Bengal, who believe in simplicity in life and love. They are similar to the Buddhists in their belief in a fulfillment which is reached by love's emancipating us from the dominance of self.
   Where shall I meet him, the Man of my Heart?
  
   He is lost to me and I seek him wandering from land to land. 
  I am listless for that moonrise of beauty,
  which is to light my life,
  which I long to see in the fullness of vision
  in gladness of heart. [p.524]
  The above is a translation of the famous Baul song by Gagan Harkara: Ami kothai pabo tare, amar moner manush je re. The following extract is a translation of another song:
   My longing is to meet you in play of love, my Lover;
  
   But this longing is not only mine, but also yours.
  
   For your lips can have their smile, and your flute
  its music, only in your delight in my love;
  and therefore you importunate, even as I am.
  The poet proudly says: 'Your flute could not have its music of beauty if your delight were not in my love. Your power is great—and there I am not equal to you—but it lies even in me to make you smile and if you and I never meet, then this play of love remains incomplete.'
  The great distinguished people of the world do not know that these beggars—deprived of education, honour and wealth—can, in the pride of their souls, look down upon them as the unfortunate ones who are left on the shore for their worldly uses but whose life ever
  misses the touch of the Lover's arms.
  This feeling that man is not a mere casual visitor at the palace-gate of the world, but the invited guest whose presence is needed to give the royal banquet its sole meaning, is not confined to any particular sect in India.
  A large tradition in medieval devotional poetry from Rajasthan and other parts of India also bear the same message of unity in celestial and romantic love and that divine love can be fulfilled only through its human beloved.
  Tagore's own compositions were powerfully influenced by Baul ideology. His music also bears the stamp of many Baul tunes. Other Bengali poets, such as Kazi Nazrul Islam, have also been influenced by Baul music and its message of non-sectarian devotion through love.
  Rabindranath Tagore was greatly influenced and inspired by Bauls. Here is a famous Rabindrasangeet (Tagore song), heavily influenced by Baul theme:
  Amar praner manush achhé prané 
  
  Tai heri taye sakol khane 
  
  Achhe shé nayōntaray, alōk-dharay, tai na haraye-- 
  Ogo tai dekhi taye jethay sethay
  Taka-i ami jé dik-pané
  The man of my heart dwells inside me. 
  
  Everywhere I behold, it's Him! 
  
  In my every sight, in the sparkle of light 
  Oh I can never lose Him --
  Here, there and everywhere,
  Wherever I turn, right in front is He!
  All bāulas shared only one belief in common—that God is hidden within the heart of man and neither priest, prophet, nor the ritual of any organized religion will help one to find Him there. They felt that both temple and mosque block the path to truth; the search for God must be carried out individually and independently.
caption: Baul singers in performance at Santiniketan, India.
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